More Trust, More Future
The word chosen by Treccani[1] as the “Word of the Year 2025” is “trust”: one of the most searched terms on the platform and the one showing the highest percentage increase compared to the previous year. Given that trust is a fundamental concept in both social and personal life, it is hardly surprising that it has moved to the centre of attention in a period of extreme uncertainty, and that it may also be linked to another word beginning with the letter F: “future”.
Our Scientific Director, Sandro Castaldo – who has devoted decades of academic research and managerial dissemination to the study of trust – addresses the topic by answering three questions.
What relationship can be established between the fragility of trust at the social level and economic behaviour and consumption choices? Or, in other words: how does trust, from a social need, become an essential infrastructure of the market?
Trust can be regarded as the glue and lubricant of society and the economy. In the absence of trust in others, individuals would constantly have to remain cautious and well defended, always equipped with protective mechanisms. Society would be built on suspicion and the fear of being attacked by others – a feeling that, unfortunately, is becoming increasingly widespread today.
Even simple payments for goods and services would no longer function with the same effectiveness, because trust in money and in payment instruments themselves would be missing. In short, exchanges would become far more difficult, and economic initiative far more complex.
Fortunately, when trust exists, it allows society and the economy to function in a smoother and more fluid way. Problems arise when trust declines and, as a result, exchanges, purchases, and consumption decrease. When uncertainty about the future is high and trust is lacking, the economy slows down or even contracts, as happens in times of crisis. We can therefore say that there is a strong correlation between the level of trust that develops within a country – or within a specific relational context – and its level of social and economic exchanges and, more broadly, its overall wealth.
Trust as an asset, as brand capital that can be built, measured, and lost: which signals matter most today, at a time when trust is being sought at every level?
Trust is undoubtedly an important asset for everyone, including firms and their brands. A customer who fully trusts a company or a brand will repurchase consistently, thereby increasing its value. A firm that has succeeded in building a solid customer base characterised by strong trust relationships will achieve better economic and competitive performance than a firm whose customers are volatile and display low levels of trust, frequently switching from one provider to another. For this reason, it is essential to continuously measure one’s trust capital and to verify whether there are elements that could undermine the relationship of trust with demand.
There are systematic methodologies for measuring trust that make it possible to assess accurately the strength of a firm’s or a brand’s trust capital.
If trust is indispensable – yet “delicate” to manage, especially in a phase of great uncertainty – what might serve as a compass for firms over the next 12 months? And, looking more broadly, what should be done or reconsidered to “bind together” trust and the future?
There is a general need for trust at all levels: from the “macro” level of relations between countries or economic systems, down to individual interpersonal relationships.
Trust means having strong expectations about the future and/or about the behaviour of a counterpart. Trust has been defined as the shadow of the future over the present. When we make decisions, we often refer to events and performances that will occur in the future; therefore, the future must be brought into the present and imagined within today’s context, so that decisions can be made with sufficient confidence.
Today, for example, we decide to purchase an airline ticket that will allow us to fly in the future on a safe, comfortable, and punctual aircraft. We buy products today that we will consume later. Many of our choices have an impact on the future, which we must somehow imagine – by trusting. Even when a service is promised or offered, its delivery is postponed in time. This is why trust ultimately means certainty about promises made today for future performance or activities. Developing trust therefore simply means keeping promises over time. Unfortunately, this does not always happen, particularly in certain social, economic, and political contexts, which only end up generating further distrust.
To be perceived as trustworthy, actors must be seen as competent, non-opportunistic, and possessing integrity – the main drivers of trust. These are fundamental elements for building trust-based relationships, yet paradoxically they appear somewhat outdated in certain contexts. Returning to the beginning, when being perceived as competent, altruistic, and honest formed the foundation for being recognised as trustworthy individuals, sound institutions, and leading firms.
[O.M]
